The ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to propose allowing House of Representatives members to vote online if they are absent due to pregnancy or childbirth, LDP officials said Thursday.

An LDP project team discussing Lower House reforms Thursday approved a plan to introduce online voting in such cases. The LDP will call for other parties to support the plan, which was drawn up by the LDP’s Women’s Affairs Division.

“We hope to secure the opportunity” for such Lower House members to vote, said Koichi Hagiuda, LDP executive acting secretary-general and head of the project team, to reporters.

To introduce online voting, a Lower House rule stipulating that voting members have to be present on the floor will need to be revised.